Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster (Black-bellied Dew-lover) a dipteran (two-winged) insect, is the species of fruit fly that is commonly used in genetic experiments; it is among the most important model organisms. In modern biological literature, it is often simply called Drosophila or (common) fruit fly. Students also nickname it Drozzy.

Model organism in genetics

Drosophila melanogaster is one of the most studied organisms in biological research, particularly genetics and developmental biology. There are several reasons:

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• It is small and easy to grow in the laboratory
• It has a short generation time (about 2 weeks) and high productivity (females can lay 500 eggs in 10 days)
• The mature larvae show giant chromosomes in the salivary glands.
• It has only 4 pairs of chromosomes: 3 autosomal, and 1 sex.
• Males do not show recombination, facilitating genetic studies.
• Genetic transformation techniques have been available since 1987.
• Its compact genome was sequenced in 1998.

Charles W. Woodworth is credited with being the first to breed Drosophila in quantity and for suggesting to W. E. Castle that they might be used for genetic research during his time at Harvard University. Beginning in 1910, fruit flies helped Thomas Hunt Morgan accomplish his studies on heredity. "Thomas Hunt Morgan and colleagues extended Mendel's work by describing X-linked inheritance and by showing that genes located on the same chromosome do not show independent assortment. Studies of X-linked traits helped confirm that genes are found on chromosomes, while studies of linked traits led to the first maps showing the locations of genetic loci on chromosomes" (Freman 214). The first maps of Drosophila chromosomes were completed by Alfred Sturtevant.

Related Topics:
Charles W. Woodworth - W. E. Castle - Harvard University - Thomas Hunt Morgan - Mendel - Alfred Sturtevant

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